Stuck Killing Your Revenge In Mind
by Emma98moon
Summary: Ajivha Rae, a young Khajiit living in a dark, gloomy world, finds herself running from a Thieves Guild member. When she's saved in the forest by a man from the Dark Brotherhood, Ajivha's eyes start to open to the world around her...and to what she is.
1. One: Thieving In Riften

'_Yeah_', I thought to myself, '_keep staring at me. See where it lands you at._' The tip of my tail swayed in annoyance as I made my way to the gates of Riften. Just because I was a Khajiit, everyone had to stare at me. So much for not drawing attention... I just wanted to snatch a quick drink from the Bee and Barb before I continued on my way to Whiterun. I didn't want any drama, stress or fights.

I walked to the gates of Riften, my legs aching a little from the long walk. There were two guards on duty outside of the gates and the one on the left cast me a dirty look as I approached.

"What do _you_ want, _cat_?" he asked.

"Hmph," I mumbled to myself, "Mead. I want mead. A quick drink and I'm off."

"Your kind is known for starting trouble," the guard on the right put his two cents in.

"My kind?" I asked with a small laugh, "That's funny. I haven't seen any of my kind around for several miles. Last I saw was a caravan. Even so, I just want a drink. So can I enter?"

The guard cast the other a glance, and the right one turned to the gate, "Fine, but everybody will be watching you so if you make even one false move, your head will be on a platter."

I rolled my eyes as I walked through the gates, '_I could have figured out myself that everybody would be watching me, tidbit._'

The gates slid shut behind me as I tossed a few glances here and there around me. I walked down the path and came to a bridge. The Bee and Barb was across it, so I crossed the wooden path and entered. As I crossed the bridge and walked inside, I found myself in a place with a few people scattered about. There were two Nords, a Redguard, two Argonians and just two other people I didn't care to pick apart for their race. The Bee and Barb was a small place, but I walked up to the bar and re-positioned my satchel as I took a seat on a bar stool. I eventually took it off and let it sit on the floor in front of me so the strap was sitting on my foot. I'd feel if it were messed with.

At first, nobody was behind the bar, so I figured the Nord or somebody else would step up behind it, but I was shocked on the inside when one of the Argonians, the woman, walked up to me.

"What can I get you?" she asked. Unlike the others in the Bee and Barb, she didn't have a glare strewn over her face at the site of me. In fact, it actually looked like she had more trust in me than she did the others. Since I knew better, it was probably because she was an Argonian. She was a 'beast race' like me and she understood how looks could be deceiving.

"Just a bottle of mead, thanks," I pulled out a few septims as she reached under the counter and placed a bottle in front of me. We did a trade in a way as I put the coins in her hand, "Thanks plenty," I said.

She nodded, "So, where are you hailing from?"

"Oh," I said, "Just down west, you know." I opened the bottle and took a small sip.

"What's the purpose, if you don't mind a curious question or two?"

"On my way to Whiterun."

"Whiterun, eh? Quite a fancy place, I'd say."

"Really?" I asked, "I've heard it's not quite as fancy as Solitude."

I heard a guy snickering in the background, _"How much you wanna bet she's saying that because Solitude has more stuff for her to steal?"_

I rolled my eyes and saw the Argonian woman do it, too.

"Any special purpose for heading so far to Whiterun?" she leaned on the counter, seeming to be purely interested in having a conversation with me.

"Yeah, actually," I said. I reached into my shirt and yanked at the chain around my neck. A fully gold chain with a small locket on it, "One reason is because I need names inscribed on this. Another is because I'm looking for an old friend in Whiterun."

She eyed my chain with interest, not with the tweak of wanting to steal it, so she asked, "Can I see that chain?"

My tail twitched as I took it off my neck and handed it to her, "Sure." I was sitting right in front of her, and if she tried anything, I'd have at her. My fist would have no problem breaking the jaw of a woman who _seemed_ nice.

After she inspected it a few times, flipping it back and forth in her hand, she gave it back to me. Instead of putting it back on, I set it down on the table and took another sip of mead.

"I'm Keerava," she held out a scaly hand for me to shake, and I did as a pleasure.

"Name's Ajivha." (Aw-Gee-vuh)

"Pleasure," she said, "So, of all places to stop in Tamriel for a drink, why here?"

"Closest place I found and I really needed to rest for a while."

"You're still a while away from Whiterun. You gonna be spending the night in town?"

"I could, but I don't think I should."

"Why's that?"

"I like to keep moving."

The same man from before spoke up to one of his buddies, "_Probably 'cause she's got a bounty on her head."_

I shook my head and Keerava laughed a little, "Ignore them," she whispered, "They drank _off_ their tails."

I laughed a little and she looked at the door as I heard it squeak open. I try my best all the time not to look at people when they enter a room. Keerava seemed to perk up a little, but not in a good way. It was more in a way that said she had to watch out, so when I turned around, I saw a guy who looked... mighty suspicious.

"Delvin," Keerava whispered, "Oh, I highly dislike him." She shook her head and I glanced to see who walked in again. Her gaze dropped to my chain and she said, "You better keep your eyes on that," in a quiet whisper.

I nodded and the man she referred to as "Delvin" walked to the counter and took a seat... right next to me. I was sitting at the end of the bar and there were four other seats open.

"Good evening, Keerava," he said to her as if they were friends, "Mead, please." He took out a few septims and placed them right on the counter and he turned to look at me. I wasn't looking right at him, but I saw the way he glanced at me - not even at me. He glanced _past_ me and down at the table... at my chain.

"Eyes off, bud," I said.

He looked up at me and laughed, "What? I can't look at a _lovely_ gold chain?"

"Not when the gold chain is mine."

I'd heard Riften was famous for housing the Thieves Guild, but it took me a minute to realize a member had to be sitting right next to me. There were all the signs - the way he appeared to be trying to stay hidden, tightly bundled in clothes with a hood he could throw up to hide his face an any time. There was also the way he walked, like he was practicing being stealthy at every second, whether he showed it or not. I knew that move. His eyes held a familiar glint - the one that said he wanted it. I'd seen it a lot, growing up with Khajiits like myself. When we want something, it doesn't always have to be obvious, but we learn to know when somebody wants something... especially when it belongs to the person who it's wanted from.

Keerava gave him the mead but he shook his head and tossed a few more septims onto the table, "Get me three more bottles to go," he said.

Keerava got him the bottles and he stood up.

"Get me a bottle to go, too, Keerava," I leaned down to get a few more septims out of my satchel, and the man rested his hand on my shoulder as I did. I paused, still down at my satchel.

"You should be more trusting, _Khajiit_," he said and slipped his hand down my arm.

I rolled my eyes as I came back up, as did Keerava. She handed him three bottles and she set one on the table for me to get myself. The man made his way out of the Bee and Barb and I exchanged a glance with Keerava.

"Well, at least he left," she whispered.

"Bad for business?" I asked.

"When he's drunk, he likes to... start a scene."

I nodded my head when I stood up and pulled my satchel up with me.

"You off to Whiterun now?" Keerava asked.

"Indeed," I looked down after finishing my first bottle and within seconds, it was shattered on the floor.

Keerava jumped, but when she looked down, she saw the same thing that I did - nothing. He took my chain. That chain was given to me by my parents before they were slaughtered on my birthday by wolves. It was their names I was going to get engraved on it.

"I'll clean it," Keerava said as I took a run to the door. I thanked her in my head and ran outside, looking around quickly.

The man named Delvin was just walking away. He was about a minute's worth of time away from the Bee and Barb, but he glanced behind his shoulder at me and took off on a run.

Oh no. He was _not_ going to get away from me like that.


	2. Two: It's Mine

I started to run after him. I dodged people left and right, the man getting further and further away from me. Of course, though, he knew Riften - and probably like he knew the back of his hand. I was furious when I lost sight of him, but I was even more furious when a guard sneaked behind me and grabbed my wrists. Another roped me.

"Hey!" I yelled, "What are you doing?"

"We told you if you made any false moves, we'd be on you. Now you have some explaining to do," there were three guards around me. The one on my right was the right guy from the gates and the other two were just meeting me.  
"That guy stole my chain!"

"What guy, huh?" the guard asked.

"The one who ran out of the Bee and Barb! Delvin!"

The guards laughed, and pretended to look around for him, "I bet he did."

They hoisted me off of the ground that they first pushed me onto and started to lead me toward what I assumed was the jail.

I sat there for a good ten minutes trying to pick the lock. It wasn't very good for me, however. I had only one lockpick on me. They took my bag and put it on a shelf away from me outside of my cell. If I'd have known trouble was going to start, I would have stashed more.

When the door finally squeaked open, I leaned my head back and gave an exasperated sigh of relief, standing up and stepping out of the cell. I pushed the door closed as quietly as I could. Surprisingly, I was the only person in the jail. Really? Nobody else got in trouble? Like, ever?

I walked out and to my satchel, which I picked up and threw over my shoulder. No way was I going to stay in a jail cell. I had my chain to get back.

I searched around for a little before I finally found my way out. It was roughly midnight, and I needed to fine somebody who would help me - Keerava?

I made my way to the Bee and Barb. It was late, sure, but it still had to be open, right?

I pushed the door open and made my way inside. There were different people in there now and I saw Keerava at the bar, cleaning. She looked up and gave me a nod as I walked up to her.

"Did you get your chain back?"

I laughed, "I wish. I was actually wandering if I could talk to you alone."

"About?"

"I need your help."

She shrugged her shoulders and led me to a room in the back of the bar. Luckily, nobody really paid attention.  
In the back room she asked me, "So, what happened?"

"Because of who I am, I got arrested. I just got out of the jail cell and I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to Delvin."

She seemed unsure of what to say, "I'm not sure if you're going to want to go through all of the fuss to get it back, but you can go under the sewers and..."

So a little while later, I found myself picking another lock. _'Hm'_, I thought to myself, _'Maybe I should see about joining the Thieves' Guild. I'm pretty fine with picking locks.'_ I laughed with myself as the door sprung open a little. I stayed where I was, waiting to hear if anybody moved or said anything. Granted, it was so late at night that probably everybody had to be asleep, but at the same time, who was I to know their sleep schedules?

When no sounds were heard, I tiptoed into the room and looked around. There was just about nothing but a bar type of area. Yeah, Keerava said it was called the... Ragged Flagon? Yeah, I saw why 'Ragged' was used. It could use a few upgrades.

I made my way across the area and found another door. It popped open and a smile covered my face. There laid the man named Delvin and my chain was on a table next to him.

Yeah, you could say I stole my chain back. But ask me a simple question: Ajivha Rae, if you stole your own chain back, why did Delvin Mallory follow you to the outskirts of Falkreath and try to take it again?  
Ask me again when I could tell you a proper answer.

I found myself running through the trees outside of Falkreath. I was just settling into an inn at the bar when he walked in, a triumphant smile on his face. I sat there, chill as ice. What reason did I have to be worried? The chain was mine in the first place, right?

And there was a bar full of witnesses, so if he tried to kill me he'd go to jail.

Or so I thought.  
Yes, I was wrong.  
Oh, so very wrong.

"Everybody in this room," he said loudly, "I have a bone to pick with a Khajiit in here. Every person who runs to a guard will come to their death in a neck-to-knife manner. I don't usually kill, but somebody in this room has something I want." At this point, he pulled a small blade out and gave me a smile, "Hand over the chain."

"I don't think so."

"It's mine."

"You stole it from me."

"And you stole it from me."

"_I took it back,_" I stood swiftly and walked toward him.

Truth be told, I had no weapons on me and I was doing an idiotic thing by approaching him. Well, I had weapons on me, but they were all in my bag and by the time I'd reach for them he'd have me sliced.

So what options did I have left?

I walked up to the man and he just stared at me... until my fist charged his face with a, "Hello!" kind of vibe to it.

I took my chance and I ran.

Now I was running through trees and bushes. He was hot on my trail. I feared that soon I'd be making a 'fine rug'.  
So what if I was a Khajiit? I still had rights to be scared... and I'm not the toughest person in the world. Putting on a tough exterior usually keeps people from trying to mess with me... until they stare at me enough and start thinking, _'She's just a Khajiit. Little tidbit can't do harm to me.'_ Whatever you say...

I found myself dodging trees this way and that, hustling to jump over fallen trees and avoid thorn bushes. I know, I know - I'm a Khajiit. I'm supposed to be swift and stealthy... usually I am, but in new territory, when I'm running for my life, I prefer not to be having to look above me and below me for attacks and things that could trip me.

At first, I was doing fine. I was staying ahead of him and out of sight, but even as it was so late at night, my eyes were still better than his but that didn't mean I could see _everything_.

I dodged a tree on my left but felt myself coming to a collision with the ground, leaves, twigs and stones. I also found myself thinking I was done for, because even as I tried to get up to keep running again, I just wasn't fast enough.

But somebody else was.

I felt myself pulled off the ground and tugged backwards into bushes and a hand clamped over my mouth. My heartbeat started racing as I figured it was Delvin, but that didn't make sense - I could still hear footsteps running after from the way I'd came from.

"If you want to survive, stay quiet," a male voice hissed into my ear, "Otherwise, if you make a noise, I won't hesitate to slit your throat."

My eyes widened as I was gently lowered into a kneeling position with the guy getting down behind me.

My thoughts were racing. Was he a bandit or a thief? Was he another member of the Thieves' Guild looking to kill me? Was he a hunter wanting to use my fur as his pelt on cold, chilly nights? My heart pounded as I thought of all these possibilities. What if he was just a man prejudice against Khajiits?

And suddenly Delvin got closer to us. Too close, in fact. He stopped right in front of where we were in the bushes. We were hidden from the moonlight, but would that stop his eyes from looking down and seeing us? He looked around as I bit my lip and to my own relief, he started trekking on.

The man who was behind me kept us down for a good ten minutes after Delvin left, though. And even then, before he removed his hand from my mouth he said, "You have some explaining to do. Follow me if you want to be safe."

He slowly let me get up and I turned around to face him and see who the man was that saved me but before I could, he was walking away from me. I only saw his back.  
"Wait!" I hissed, and the man stopped walking.

I saw a tail on him. A tail. The man had a tail!

"What?" he whispered back to me.

"Are you a-"

"Khajiit?" he finished my question, "Just as much as you are. Now follow me. I'll answer more questions later, but that guy is still around here and you're being tracked. Let's move."

It took us half an hour, but we came to a big door. It had a skull on the front of it and when he approached, I jumped. The door spoke, "What is the music of life?"

To the question, the man replied, "Silence, my brother."

And we entered.

He led me down a lot of steps, past a small room where a blonde woman was, to whom he said, "Evening, Astrid," and he continued down further. The woman glanced at me curiously and then she looked away.

Eventually we came into a kitchen kind of place and he pointed at a long table, "Sit."

There were two other girls sitting at the table and one guy and they all exchanged a glance from me to the man.  
I was not going to let him speak to me like that.

"Excuse me?" I said, "I may be an animal, but I'm a Khajiit, like you. I'm not a dog, thanks."

He gave me a dirty glare and said, "I'm pretty sure I just saved your life. Some appreciation and gratitude would be nice."

He had a point, I knew, as I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table, but I sat out so I could look at him as he gathered some food materials.

"Oh, look at that," said one girl, who looked like a young, little kid, "Omazirr Reyuu actually has the heart to save somebody! Or is it just because she's your own kind?" (OH-mah-z-ear Ray-you)

"Shut up, Babette. You don't know anything about me to understand why I saved her."

"Then elaborate," another woman said.

"The woman needed help so I helped her. Now shut up!" he glared at the two of them and my eyes widened.

"So I'm not the only female you command around?"

The other two girls laughed but the younger one spoke up, "He's not the one in charge. Astrid is. He's just a high-ranking assassin, so she trusts him a lot."

"Just because he got here and killed more people in more time than we have," Gabriella chimed in.

Something hitched in my mind, "You're assassins?" I asked.

"Everybody in this this hideout is an assassin except for... you," Babette smiled, "Which stills makes me curious as of why you're here and why he saved you."

I eventually turned to the Omazirr fellow, "_Why_ did you save me?"


	3. Three: Omazirr

He sighed, "Because I don't see many of my kind around here anyways and I thought that man was following you because he wanted a pelt from you."

"I assume Delvin doesn't go for pelts," I said.

"You-you know him?"

"Not quite," I leaned back against the table and crossed my arms.

"But you know his name?"

"I know his name and that he's part of the Thieves' Guild."

He stared at me for a long minute, "You stole from a member of the Thieves' Guild?"

"No," I shook my head, "He stole from me; a pure gold chain. I took it back."

"So he's after you to get back something that's not even his?"

"Exactly."

I couldn't tell if Omazirr believed me or not, but he stared at me for a few minutes either way and eventually he placed a bottle of mead on my lap. He sat next to me, a bottle in his own hand and he stared at me for a long minute yet again. I turned and stared back at him as he drank from the bottle.

"What?" I asked after another minute passed.

"You realize that man will still be after you if you leave here, yes?"

"Yeah, I have that figured out already."

"Are you going to leave here?"

"I don't have authority to stay."

"No, but you could," a woman's voice chimed in. "Nazir, Babette, Gabriella. Leave, please."

I turned and saw the woman with the blonde hair at the entrance to the room and everybody except for Omazirr and her left.

"Astrid?" Omazirr questioned what she was doing and what she meant.

Astrid walked over in front of me and stared down at me for a long time, "You're a Khajiit. That's as obvious as Alduin from Mara," she compared.

I was a little familiar with the Nordic deities, but I wasn't _that _sure.

I glanced at Omazirr and said, "So it's like The Skooma Cat and Azurah?"

He nodded, but seemed unsure and looked back to Astrid.

"Khajiits are known for their stealth and sneak abilities. You're quiet, cunning and sneaky. What else could be better for an assassin?"  
_  
Assassin. _"It's funny. I keep hearing you guys say assassins, but I'm not sure what you mean entirely. If you're all assassins, what's your name?"

Astrid smiled, "Have you ever heard of the Night Mother? Or, perhaps maybe I should say the Black Sacrament?"  
_  
The Black Sacrament. _"Dark Brotherhood?"

"Yes. I believe you have the potential to be a great assassin like Omazirr. From what I hear, this could be a great opportunity for you. You're being hunted, you need a place to stay, you have the main skills an assassin should have... we could assist you if you assist us. You just need to say 'Yes' to becoming a Dark Sister."

"Is there... some sort of initiation I have to go through?"

"No-" Astrid started to say, but Omazirr cut her off.

"Not quite, but at the same time, yes. Since we're similar in race, I assume Astrid will have me learn what you know about sneaking, stealth, sound and how well your ability to kill is," he looked to Astrid for confirmation.

"Correct," Astrid said, "After he judges what you can do, I'll assign you some contracts. The contracts range from easy to difficult, and sometimes I'll send you with a partner. Other times you should go alone unless you believe you'd need the help. For the first few contracts, I'll send somebody to watch over you just to make sure you get the hang of it. The contracts are fairly easy.

"Sometimes, you'll be given certain terms like killing the victim in a certain way; maybe an arrow to the neck or by using a life-draining spell-you do know how to use spells, right?"

I faltered, "I've dabbled in magic here and there but I'd have to work on it a bit."

"Babette could probably help you. At least with potions, anyways," Omazirr said.

"Well, if you fulfill the terms of the contract, you'll get an extra sum of money added on to the pay the client is offering. You can use the money for whatever you want; it's your kill and nobody is allowed to take that away from you. We just have some rules of our own here that you should try your very best to follow.

"The first rule is not to get seen when you're on a contract. If you're seen and put in jail, it's your job to either get out or to pay your sentence. If you have a bounty on your head, you better pay it while it's low so you don't get caught up on another contract."

"How many contracts can I do at a time?" I asked.

"You can do as many as you want, but I wouldn't go over three at a time," Omazirr said, "when you have more than three, you could possibly mix them up and that wouldn't be good, now would it?"

"The second rule is not to attack the Dark Brotherhood or betray us."

"That should technically be the first rule," Omazirr said, "but that's kind of obvious."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "As long as you stay faithful to us and don't tell any of our secrets, we won't make you pay, but we're not going to baby you, and seeing that you're a Khajiit as is, you probably grew up with disrespect from others."

"I know how to take care of myself," I told them.

"For the most part," Omazirr whispered under his breath. My ear twitched and I shook my head a little.

"Do you like what you hear? Have a spot in your soul for what you're being offered? think you can do it?"

I thought about this for a few minutes as both of them stared at me.

"Well, I suppose I could see myself as an assassin..."

"But due to that man following you," Omazirr spoke up and looked at Astrid, "I'd like her to have somebody with her at all times as backup if he attacks her."

"Understandable," Astrid nodded.

Omazirr and Astrid left the room and told me to do whatever. Whatever? They tell me I could join the Dark Brotherhood and then... they just leave like that? How nice...

I sat there, hoping somebody would come in, see me sitting there and strike up a conversation.

Luckily, my hope was answered.

A Redguard man eventually came in. He saw me sitting there alone and, for some reason, took a seat down at the table near me.

"Abandoned by the one who saved you, I see."

"Omazirr?" I asked, "I guess you could say that."

The man nodded, "So, you'll be part of the Brotherhood _soon_. I'll be watching over you when you take your first contract. I'm not going to baby you, but I was told to make sure the Thieves' Guild doesn't get you. To that extent, I will help you, but here's a small warning; until you're an official Dark Sister, don't expect a warm welcome. Expect the cold shoulder from many including myself."'

I nodded, "I expected that already. I get it enough as is."

He chuckled, "Yes, but from us it isn't because of your race. It is because you're new and we aren't sure if we can trust you yet. For all we know, you could be a spy wanting to rat us out, but I'm trusting you're not like that if you're here anyways."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't plan on ratting anybody out, so don't have thoughts like that in your mind."

He stood up from the bench and walked away, coming back with bread in his hand. He sat down again and looked at me, "Well, you can call me Nazir."

"And you can call me Ajivha."

For the first few hours after Nazir's encounter, I decide to go around and familiarize myself with the other people.I learned that Babette was a Breton vampire. I also learned that she would give me potions and ingredients, for a price, of course. She could also train me in alchemy.

Gabriella was a Dunmer who had a _pet_ Frostbite Spider named Lis. She made quite a few sarcastic remarks, but eventually welcomed me to the Brotherhood, but she added on as I walked away, "But you're not a true assassin yet."

I learned that Festus Krex is an Elder member of the Brotherhood. He seemed mean upon first approaching him, but after speaking for a little, he appeared nicer than the others, and openly told me that his preferred weapon was magic. He said, "There's a spell for everything, I assure you." He taught at the college of Winterhold for two years but he left because nobody seemed to appreciate the destruction magic he was teaching. I asked him if he could teach me some spells sometime, and he said he wouldn't mind at all.

When I later approached an Argonian named Veezara, he only glared at me continuously, so I assumed he hated all Khajiits. He introduced himself and said, "Just because Festus was nice to you, I won't be the same, and if you don't know anything about Shadowscales, I say to stay out of my way and not to get me in trouble if I have to do a contract with you. I'll help you and you better help me if we're in a bind, but we're _not_ friends and I don't personally _want_ to be friends with you."

You can see how welcoming he was.

Finally, I met Arnbjorn. Astrid's husband. He didn't have much to say, but he said what he had to flat out, "I'm a werewolf. I love Astrid. I'm a blacksmith. I'll make you weapons and armor, _tidbit_, but I won't treat you like a child. You're here to murder people. Not make friends."

I started to go back to the kitchen, but Omazirr sneaked behind me and grabbed my arm. He started pulling me through the Sanctuary and eventually he said, "This is my room." He told me he would show me to my room later, but first he had to talk to me.

Did I already screw something up? Or did he have a contract for me already? Or was I not supposed to be talking to people? I hoped I didn't do anything wrong...


	4. Four: You're Serious?

I stared at Omazirr as he pulled me into his room. I asked him what was going on and he told me, "Take a seat."

I sat down on the edge of his bed and he stood at the doorway after he closed it, "I'm sitting. What now?"

He seemed to be contemplating something, but eventually he sat down on a chair near a desk in the room, staring at me, "How much do you know?"

I gave him a curious look, "About?"

"Us."

Us? Did he mean the Dark Brotherhood? My ears turned down a little.

"Can you explain what you mean?"

He sighed and motioned his hand back and forth between me and him, "Us. _Khajiits._"

"I... know enough considering I am one, I guess. Why?"

"Did you grow up in Elsweyr?"

Why did it matter where I grew up? My ears stayed back and my head tilted to the side, "Yes... _why_?" I emphasized the 'why' to get it through to him that I wanted an answer.

He shook his head and rubbed at his chin for a few minutes, "Nothing, never mind. Come with me and I'll take you to your room." He started to open the doors and when he walked out, I just sat where I was, so when he noticed I wasn't following, he came back, "Are you coming?"

"No." I shook my head and stared at him.

He stared back at me for a long minute.

"You have something to ask. Don't just stand there in your fancy, red armor trying to look good and strong. There's a reason you pulled me in here and I want to know what it is."

He shook his head and I saw his eyes roll, "Well, I don't want to tell you, so I'm not going to." He must have thought that speaking in a matter-of-fact tone of voice was going to change what I wanted to do.

"Well, I'll just stay in your room until you tell me then." I pushed myself back onto his bed so my back was against the wall and I crossed my legs, telling him I meant what I said. I was going to be comfortable if I was going to pry this out of him.

He growled at me softly, "Then I'll forcibly remove you," he started to step closer to me, raising his arms to grab at me when he could get close enough.

I hissed at him and raised my hand, "If you provoke me, I will be forced to unsheathe my claws," I pushed my claws out and he backed up.

He stared at me and his ears went back, "Seriously? You'd attack me?" He wasn't threatened, or anything like that, but he seemed more surprised.

"You saved my life, sure. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to let things go. I'm curious. I want to know what you had to say I'll stay until I find out."

"Curiosity killed the cat." He looked at me with stern eyes and I stared back with the same look.

"Well, it's a good thing this _cat_ knows how to take care of herself. Spill your question!" I was starting to get antsy and annoyed.

He shook his head and closed the doors behind him again, "It's a secret, okay?"

I leaned back on his bed and crossed my arms, "Khajiits are known for secrecy, aren't we?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, this is a secret that I won't be able to keep from the Brotherhood for much longer."

My tail twitched a little, "Is it bad?"

"Bad enough, I guess."

"Okay... so if this is a bad secret, why are you telling me when you only met me?"

"Because," he said, "you're the only one who can help."

"I am? How?"

He pulled the chair over in front of me and sat down again and faced me, staring intently into my eyes for a moment, "They think I was born and raised in Elsweyr."

"And... you weren't?"

"No... well, maybe... I-I don't know!" he threw his hands up and sighed. "I was kidnapped at a young age, but everybody sees me as a Khajiit and they instantly think I'm full of Elsweyr knowledge. I don't know anything about our pantheon, and I don't know why but everyone else _loves_ to talk about their gods and why they're so great."

"So?"

" 'So' is that they end up trying to bring me into the conversation and I don't know anything about the religion I follow."

"Can't you tell them that?"

"No," he said, "I _want_ to know about my gods..."

I felt flustered for a minute, "Wait," I said, "Is that the whole reason you saved me?"

"_No_! Of course not! It's part of the reason, but also because I want a companion here and the others just aren't enough like me..."

I stared at him for a minute without saying anything. He wanted a companion? I had to wonder if he realized that having a companion wouldn't be easy if he was always going to be cold toward me and rude. I have to admit, though, he was actually being nice a little there.

"What?" he finally asked.

"You're always putting out a tough exterior, aren't you? You could actually be kind, you know." I smiled a little.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not 'kind', okay. I'm an assassin. Assassins aren't _kind_."

"So why were you being kind to me then?"

"I'm not. This is a one-time thing. Don't get used it. I just want you to help me learn about our gods. Will you do it or not?"

"What if I say no?"

He seemed a little ticked off, "Would you really say no to helping your own kind?"

I sighed, "Why don't you just tell them you don't know anything about your gods?"

"I will _not_ be the only one in here who doesn't know their own pantheon!"

I jumped when he raised his voice and felt my fur sticking up. "Okay! Okay! I'll help you..."

He stared at me, his eyes dark and cold, "Good," he said and opened the doors, "Now come on so I can show you to your room."

He led me down the hallway to a door and told me my room was inside, then he just walked away. He just walked away... so, something told me deep inside that he was going to be on of those people that made everything difficult, right?

I pushed the door open and walked inside. Stone wall and floor, old-looking bed with soft sheets on it, a wooden bookshelf that looked like it would only hold a few books before collapsing, a stone desk with papers strewn over it and a few books in a pile and an ink well with a feather. There was a chest in the corner with a padlock but no key (I'd pick that lock later), a six-drawer-dresser against the wall with a few candles on top of three books. There was an oil lamp on the desk, but I was doubtful that I'd need it. I noticed a few potions on the desk, too. Health and Magicka, it looked like. I looked a little more and found Stamina, too.

I was tired from the running, and all of the people-meeting, so I crawled in the bed without another thought and fell asleep.

"Is she dead?" a voice asked, as I was woken up by somebody poking me.

"I wouldn't doubt it," another voice asked.

"I'm not dead," I said as I sat up and turned to look at who was poking me. Babette. Gabriella was behind her.

"Oh, good. You've just been sleeping for the last three hours, then. Astrid wants you. Better go find her," Gabriella said, and the two of them started to leave my room.

"Wait," I said, "Any idea where I can find her?"

They laughed, "We just came to give you her message. We didn't come to show you the way to her."

I sighed as they left and I got out of the bed.

After a meaningless ten minutes searching, I finally found Astrid. She was in the first room I came to after Omazirr actually brought me into the Sanctuary.

"About time," she said as she looked up. I looked down and ground my teeth together. _If somebody would have helped me, you wouldn't be waiting. Maybe you should teach them some manners._

"Sorry," I said, "Nobody told me where you were."  
She laughed, "For the first week or two, you'll have to find out how to function around here by yourself. After you're officially brought in to the Brotherhood, everybody will open up. Anyways, Nazir is outside waiting for you. He has the first details of your contract and he will be the one there to watch you." She stood at a table with her hands on her hips.

I was confused, "I thought Omazirr was going to-"

"No. It would be a waste of time to have you trained when you probably already know what you're doing and we're getting more contracts than needed right now. Nazir will fill you in on the way, but as for right now, you _need_ to get your move on."

I was still confused, but I shrugged my shoulders mentally. "Okay," I walked in to get my weapons.

I emerged from the Sanctuary with a bow, arrows, and a dagger just in case I got up and close. Nazir was leaning against the wall and he stood upright slowly when he saw me.

"I assume you're ready to go?"

"Of course," I said.

He walked up to me and inspected the weapons, "Bow and arrow? Nice choice. Now, follow me. I'll explain the mission on the way."

"We're on out way to Markarth to kill a woman by the name of Bernadette Hansley. She's a Nordic woman who needs to go. Our client is a Nordic man who needs the woman gone because she knows too much about his business and she could get him killed," Nazir explained.

"So, it's kill her before she kills him?"

"Yes," he nodded and handed me a paper. I stopped walking and unfolded it. There was a sketch of the woman.

She had blonde hair, average-pale skin and a medium build.

We were walking through the thick layer of dense trees. The wind was blowing, but not hard, and with it came a light shower of rain. It was getting closer to night, and Nazir suggested we stop to rest. I wasn't going to argue with him and make him think I was a difficult person to work with, so I agreed. We both sat down when we came to a small clearing. We worked together on making a fire and building something over it to keep the water from getting to and extinguishing it. We sat down near the fire across from each other and while we didn't talk much, he started to chuckle as he looked through some papers.

"Well, Ajivha, you're luck isn't very good, now is it?"

I gave him a curious look, my ear twitching, "What?"

"Your next killing is in Riften."

I felt a twist in my stomach, but I wasn't going to lose my cool, "OK?"

He looked confused, "That doesn't bother you?"

I looked away from him and pondered on his question. Did it bother me? Yeah, of course. I could feel my tail twitching nervously as I thought about what could go wrong with that. For one, the Thieves' Guild would be on me, most likely. They worked together, right? And I had no clue what, er, _rank_ Delvin was, so who knew if everybody would help him get me?

"Will you be the one there with me?" I asked.

"Probably," he replied.

He was only one person. How many people were in the Thieves' Guild?

They weren't my only worry. There was, no doubt, a bounty on my head from escaping from the jail, so how was I even supposed to get into Riften? The gate would be guarded, so I had some contemplating to do.

"Worried?" Nazir asked.

I stared at him, and I felt my hands curling into fists, "No."

He nodded slowly, showing he obviously didn't believe me, "Of course not. You're mad. Why?"

I gave him a dirty look. He looked so relaxed, leaning against the tree. He didn't even seem worried, but then again, he didn't know about the bounty on my head, did he?

"Because," I said, "I know these first few killings are supposed to be of what I can do, but sending me to a place I'll get killed in isn't really fair."

Nazir laughed, "What makes you think you'll get killed?"

"What makes you think I won't?" I retorted.

"I'm not _allowed_ to let you get killed."

I nodded slowly, "Okay, but you don't know that I was thrown in jail and now probably have a bounty on my head because I escaped."

Nazir laughed more, "Well, that sucks for you then. You have to find a way inside and I'm not going to be the one to help you."

I rolled my eyes, and although I could have figured he wasn't going to help me from the start, I still found myself thinking, _"Jerk!"_ Oh well.

There had to be some way for me to get into Riften without being noticed by the guards...


	5. Five: Thoughts on the Loose

**From here, I'm going to be more descriptive. If I'm not being descriptive of my chapters, I'm not giving my audience the full choice things to read, so I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)**

I was waiting, desperately, for Nazir to wake up the next morning. I hadn't even realized we fell asleep the night before. I was pacing back and forth through the grass that stood up to my ankles and I held a shiny dagger in my hand at the ready. It was probably Orcish in origin, but to what extent did it really matter to me at the moment? I felt a cool breeze rustling against me, through my Shrouded Robes, and when I looked into the sky through the canopy of leaves, there were dark clouds rolling in.

Part of me was tempted to wake up the Redguard, but I wasn't sure how he'd react if I did. Would he understand that I was itching to get this assassination done as soon as possible? I wanted to prove that I knew what I was doing- but then, maybe I also just wanted to get this off of my mind so I could get to work on the Riften contract he said I'd be doing next.

There was no way I'd be able to get in through the front gates, so maybe I could find another door that would be unguarded? I could feel my fur standing at the base of my neck when I thought about getting caught. The shame for me was that it wasn't a situation where I could sneak in and blend in with the crowd. No, when you're a Khajiit in Tamriel, you're in the needle-in-the-haystack situation. Only difference is that the needle is the size of a bear. Yeah, and I was the bear-sized needle, obviously.

I felt unnerved, standing there. I felt as though we'd been in the one spot for too long. If that Delvin man was around anywhere, I'd like to keep moving. I found this strange as I possibly could, but even if I came face to face with the man, I didn't want to kill him. Granted, if I ever got caught in a sticky situation with him, I couldn't just stand there and take the blows he delivered. I could see it, though. If I ever came to a fight with him, probably because he would want my chain, I'd have to take some slashes from him, and maybe deliver a few slashes of my own, but nothing to kill the lad.

I picked up my dark-gray satchel and heaved it over my shoulder. "Psst," I hissed to Nazir, "Wake up," I walked over to him and nudged him with my foot. I'd attempt to wake him up, but if my subtle attempts wouldn't work, I'd just have to wait.

He shuffled in his sleep but he didn't get up. His eyes didn't open, his mouth didn't release any words.

I nudged him with my foot again. "Nazir," I whispered once more.

Nothing.

I didn't want to wake him up and get on his bad side right from the get-go. I'd have to deal with the man for the rest of my time in the Dark Brotherhood, so if he ended up mad at me for waking him up this once, who knew how long the anger would stay?

I started to worry. What if he slept for another hour or two? I was loosing precious and valuable time! If I didn't need somebody to watch over me, I could have went and been done with the situation.

I gave up on trying to wake the man, so I went back to leaning against a hard-bark tree. My eyes were darting nervously back and forth, waiting for something to pop out of nowhere.

Half an hour later, Nazir finally stirred and fluttered his eyes opened. He stretched out and hoisted himself up, his eyes falling right to me. "Well," he said, "somebody sure doesn't sleep long." He looked at the logs, charred from the night before's fire, "Flames go out in our sleep?"

I nodded slowly.

He returned the nod and I realized something; he wasn't as cranky when he woke up from sleeping. He didn't have an attitude or rude accent burning from his mouth with every word he spoke to me. It was new, but it didn't last for very long. Soon enough he was criticizing me.

"You walk strangely, you know that? I've never seen a Khajiit that sways so much when she walks. Are you sure you know how to sneak?"  
_How many Khajiits have you really even seen?  
_  
"You walk so fast. Why don't you relax and take your time."  
_Because. This isn't your kill so you're not eager to get it done. I want this done so I can get back to the Sanctuary._

Eventually I started walking off ahead, and soon, I found myself staring up at Markarth. There was a stable with a man outside, training a dog, it looked like.

"Are you ready for this?" Nazir crept up behind me and made me jump, but after his chuckling ceased, I shook my head.

"I'm as ready as I can hope to be," I mumbled to myself.

We started to walk to the door and the guards there gave me a hard time, but Nazir managed to coax it away, shuffling me to get inside quickly.

My first time at Markarth and I'd be spending it on a crime. Wonderful, right?

Nazir told me I could follow the woman to her home or assassinate her from a distance, but it was my choice. I pondered it for a few minutes, and although I preferred to do it by distance, part of me wanted to get up close and personal for my first killing. Perhaps I wanted to see if I could handle the blood and the gore? I'd be around it for a while if I planned to stay in the brotherhood... yet at the same time, maybe I just wanted to impress Nazir?

My whole life, I grew up with wanting to impress those who looked down on me, but it seemed it would be difficult at this new stage for me. I wasn't a blossoming rosebud or a pretty gem on a circlet. No, I was now _cat_ who was about to get down and dirty and bathed in red... metaphorically speaking, of course. If I got seriously covered in red, I'd be a dead giveaway to who killed the woman when she's found.

**A/N - This was just a filler chapter! Please don't hate me for it :3 but from here on out, it's much more detailed! 3 Hope you enjoy!**


	6. Six: Whelps

**I'm going to include Ta'agra in here. It's the Khajiit language. On another site, I have a journal /dictionary with the Khajiit words filled in. There aren't many, but there are enough to make simple sentences, but since the Khajiit language is highly unfinished, I will substitute many words. Let me know if you would like me to put in a link (Copy+Paste) to it. Thank you!**

**Oh, and thank you to every one for reading!**

"_Jaji ihji var dar jajo artenurr,_" I whispered to myself as I slyly watched Bernadette in the Silver-Blood Inn. I was drinking a tankard of ale when the woman walked in, completely unaware of my presence. As if she'd be needing to know I was watching her, anyways. She was a pretty girl. She has blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and was averaging lightly-tanned skin. She wore typical garb for a housewife, but Nazir noted to me that she was a widow. I couldn't help but think that it had to hurt, but soon she would be out of her misery, aye?

A throat cleared next to me as the seat was pulled out. I looked up to find Nazir. He took the stool next to me and said, "What did you say?"

We were the only two at the bar. The bartender was off serving a mercenary and the other patrons were mesmerized by the bard. He was singing some song about the Dragonborn. "_The Dragon Born Comes,_", I think it was called.

With nobody in hearing range, I looked to him and whispered, "I will kill you tonight."

"Ah." He said, "You were speaking in Ta'agra, aye?"

I nodded. "Indeed. You know some Ta'agra?"

"Not off hand, nay. I just assumed because you were a Khajiit." He shrugged his shoulders and cast a glance around the room.

"What if I speak other languages?" I felt awkward making conversation with Nazir. We made small chit-chat, aye, but that was only when we were alone. If a guard heard what we talked about and threw us in jail, I'd be in more trouble than I could swallow. He warned me not to get him caught in my problems, so if I did, he'd be infuriated, I'd guess.

"Speak any other languages?" He sipped his own ale as his eyes held a controversial gaze.

"Aye." I nodded, "I speak a little of Daedric, but they are who I worship, so you could have guessed that one, too, right?"

A chuckle from his way and another nod, "Aye." There was a small halt in our chatter.

My tail swayed from left to right behind me and I pondered on how I would kill Bernadette later on. I had a bow and arrows, but when I grabbed them, I hadn't thought about getting up close and personal in the kill. I was thinking of keeping my distance, as in a hunt or whatnot. The only weapons I had were my dagger and my claws, but the claws would make too obvious of an attack. I could sneak into her house and slice her throat with the dagger or I could stab through her heart from behind... so many choices, but not enough time to decide. I could make it quick and simple and smother her with a pillow... assuming she had one in her house if she were asleep, but with a kill like that she could wake and scream which could draw much attention. Attention and suspicions are what I needed to avoid.  
"Are you nervous, friend?"

My head jerked to the side, _"Friend?"  
_  
"Aye. That's what I called you? Shall I not?"

I shook my head, "I can't control what you call me by, but you're not to be nice to me, right?"

He chuckled, "I'm not to be nice to you in the sanctuary, my sister. But here, on jobs, I'm to help you."

"You mean you're here to protect me, aye?"

He nodded, "Aye, that's what I meant. But only from that Thieves' Guild man."

I nodded, "So, what you're telling me is that outside of the sanctuary, you'll be as kind as, say, butter to me?"

He pondered on my statement a while, swaying his head back and forth as the Redguard thought about it. He sipped from his tankard and slammed it down a little harder onto the counter than necessary, a little ale covering the desk around his hands now. He seemed not to mind  
as he said, "You could say it like that."

Later that night, I found myself outside of a tall house that was perched on a little rocky cliff, an overlook of Markarth below. Nazir was behind me, patiently waiting as I knelt before the grand, bronze door. We'd just trekked up a few sets of steps to get where we were, and while it didn't damage my stamina much, I found my hands to be a little shaky. I was breathing fine, but I found myself continuously looking back and forth for guards. Nazir said he'd keep watch, but I was shaking, practically out of my armor! My first murder, for Sheggorath's sake and I was going to struggle on the lockpick before I even got to the actual killing!

"Need some help?" Nazir whispered as he laid a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off and shook my head, my hands finally grinding in to gear as the door cocked open. I waited for a response from on the inside. A 'Who's there?' or a shriek or something, but nothing came.

"Will you wait outside or follow me in?" I asked, standing up from my kneeling position with a final glance around. No guards yet, thank Azurah.

"I'll stand watch out here."

I nodded and pushed open the door. It squeaked a little, so I only opened it enough for me to slip my body in.

I found myself inside of a full-rock house, but that was expected, wasn't it? The house was built into the rock, anyways... To my surprise, the house was mostly empty. There wasn't even a rug on the floor or a single painting on the walls. The furniture looked to have been moved out and all that was left was a wooden table in the middle of the room with a bunch of papers scrawled over it. I pondered over to the table to catch a glance at the papers. I was curious and I couldn't help it. But as I looked over the papers, I saw some odd things that I think explained why a Nordic man wanted her gone... One paper looked like it was a letter that had yet to be sent out.

_Dear Avon,_  
_ They're on to me, I know it. Medric must know that I plan to rat him out. Even as he is my ex-husband, and I promised not to tell about his Skooma dealings, what he does is just too dangerous and I know if he gets caught he'll pull me into the situation and as soon as he can. Because of this, I'm moving to Solitude. When the guards come knocking at his door he'll know it was me - then I fear I'll have the Brotherhood on my back! I can't have that, so I'm erasing all signs of me here and making my getaway. I'll make a point to visit you along my way to Solitude, but I can't promise I'll be there anytime soon after you get this letter. Anyways, wish the best for me and hope that Medric isn't on to me. Farewell for now, sister. Be safe.  
Bernadette._

If I needed to kill Bernadette to keep this Medric man safe, I figured I should take the note as well, and I slipped a few more into my pockets that had anything to do with Medric. I nodded to myself when I figured I was done and unsheathed my dagger. I could hear a soft snoring coming from behind a door off to the side of the room. In such an empty house, what could be in the other room? I would find out one way or another. I crept over the stony floors and found the bronze door was slightly ajar. She couldn't even push the door shut for her own safety? I mean, the door had a lock on it...

I tapped the door slightly and I jumped back when it swung open, a cool breeze rushing past the door, my dagger raised to swipe down on whatever was there. Then I realized I tapped it harder than I thought and the door was weak anyways. There was a small window on one side of the wall that gave me a small view to look at a rushing waterfall, but nothing more than that.

The woman was sleeping on nothing but a thin, black, scraggly blanket; something she could wrap up quick and move on out in a swift second if she needed to. She was laying on her back, her blonde hair out of the ponytail it was in earlier, eyes closed snugly, and she seemed at peace. Her hair was longer than it seemed as she laid there, flowing down over the sheer-white pillow. I felt almost guilty that I had to be the one to ruin it, but then again when somebody betrays another, their death is on their own hands.

I found myself kneeling next to the woman as my dagger fell into place against the her neck. It would be quick and she would bleed out fast, but as soon as the cold metal touched her skin, her eyes snapped open and she made a move to throw the blankets off of her body. She made the mistake by herself, however. She pushed her body up and her neck was sliced by the dagger. Blood immediately starting to gush out of the wound. Her eyes shot open and a small whimper came out, but then her head fell back onto the pillow. Her eyes were still open in shock and then I felt utterly... pleased. I felt pleased. My heart was beating faster and a smile was tugging at my lips, but why? It wasn't the first time I killed someone... no, it was because I did my job.

I slid the blade across her throat, a small squelch coming from it and then I stood up. The blood continued to gush out of her neck and I felt repulsed, but it was a feeling I'd felt before when I killed in my past. I staggered back from the body as the crimson smell filled the air. Slowly, but eventually.  
I could have sworn she was reaching for something, so as my nose twitched, I stepped forward and pulled the blanket off. There was a small dagger by her clothed thigh. It was hard to tell where it came from as the light was dim, but from first look it appeared elvish, but maybe it was made from the Orcs? I picked it up and decided I would carry it along with me for a while, then I turned my attention to the room.

It was bare like the first room, except there was nothing in here. So I left the body and made my way back to the front door where Nazir was left. No words were spoken until we were safely outside of the Markarth gates.

"Did you find anything important while you were in there?" Nazir and I made our way swiftly back to the Sanctuary near Falkreath. It would take us a few days but we needed to get back fast.

"Aye, I did." I shoved my hand into my pockets and withdrew the folded and crinkled papers, pushing them Nazir's way. "All of 'em state something about a Medric and a Skooma business. Apparently she was going to rat him out and move to Solitude. One letter addresses a woman named Avon and she confessed that she felt Medric would call the Brotherhood on her."

"She was right about one thing. So, how'd you kill her? I didn't even hear a scream."

"Bernadette _var darith _Bernadette." Technically speaking, it translates to '_She killed herself._'

"Huh?" Nazir gave me a confused look, so I started to explain what had happened. I was sheepish when I admitted it. I thought he would scorn me, but to my surprise, he laughed instead.

"Really? That's a first I've heard of that, but you still got the contract done so congratulations."

We reached the Sanctuary and as soon as we stepped in, I turned to say thanks to Nazir but he shook his head and walked away from me. He strode out of sight with long steps. Aye, so now he was back to ignoring me, huh? Fair enough, he had warned me.

I walked down the cave entrance and Astrid greeted me. I gave her the papers, the quick run-through of the job and she patted me on the shoulder.

"Good job," she said. "You can go and rest for a while now after you put the weapons back."

"Thanks." I stashed the weapons away in the room and walked down the hall where I found Veezara and Arnbjorn in the first room. There was also Festus Rex, but they cared not for me so I started to make my way to my room. On my way, I felt somebody grab my wrist and spin me around to face them. I came face-to-face with Omazirr.

"Aye?" I was confused.

"If you aren't busy tonight, I'd like for you to meet me in my room."

"For what?" I asked. He looked very tough in his black and red armor. It was enchanting to see how buff he was, the Khajiit showing his brutality in his stance. His shoulders were squared off, his muscles showing, and his tail dominant behind him.

"I want a lesson tonight, Footpad."

"Oh..." I nodded slowly, "I'll meet you there, then."

"Good." He let go of my wrist and walked past me, marching off to wherever. Such a mysterious man... I was tempted to follow him but I forced myself to restrain. Wherever he was headed, it wasn't my business. I had my own plans to work on, anyways.

Back in my room, I sat down on my cot and eventually snuggled under the green blankets. I folded my arm under the pillow and my head rested atop. What was I thinking about? Oh-so many things.

Riften.

Omazirr.

Riften.

Khajiit pantheon lessons.

Riften.

Bounty.

Bernadette.

Medric.

Riften.

Riften.

Who was going with me to Riften.

Oh, and Riften.

Did I mention Riften?

Who was going to go with me? Would they help me get in and out unnoticed? And what if somebody from the Thieves' Guild caught me and tried to kill me? What then? What would be worse, though? Guards or Guild? Guards or Guild... Maybe both could be equally as bad. I didn't want to go with Gabriella or that vampire girl, Babette. Nazir probably wouldn't help me, so I didn't want him either. Arnbjorn didn't seem that welcoming to me, so he was out. That left me with Festus Rex, Omazirr or Veezara.  
My chances didn't look good and I wasn't prepared to die.

_Perhaps before I leave, I can ask the others for some tips, _I thought to myself. Surely one of them would help me in some way. Just a small tip, right? A small tip.

Later, there was a rapping on my door. I was jerked awake by it, unaware that I'd even fallen asleep.

I wiped a small strand of saliva off of my lips and found my pillow a little wet. I shivered, slightly in disgust as I wiped at my mouth again.

"What?" I called softly as I turned to the door.

It pushed open and - Omazirr!

He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his brow raised in a questioning gaze.

"Were you going to come over or not?"

"Damn it," I mumbled and looked down at my blanket. "I'm sorry. I fell asleep." I threw the blanket off of me and pulled my legs out from under the rest of it that didn't uncover me. I went to stand and stumbled forward a few steps, but by throwing my arms out slightly, I regained my balance.

"It's fine. But are you coming or going back to sleep?"

I yawned and slammed my hand over my mouth instinctively. I closed my eyes with the yawn and shook my head, "No, no I'm coming."

Through sleepy eyes, I followed him back to his room, padding softly behind him.

"What time is it?"

He shrugged his shoulders and pushed open the door to his room, "Past midnight. Take a seat on my bed with me." He sat down on his bed at one corner, near the foot of it, and I took a seat at the top near the pillow.

I curled my legs under me and rested my tail, curved around my legs. No wonder I passed out - I was so tired, I couldn't help it.

I found Omazirr staring at me as I shifted my position; from the lotus position, I switched to fetal. It wasn't a tense fetal position, though, it was relaxed, with my arms lightly strung around my legs.

"Where do we start?" Omazirr was straight down-to-business when he figured I was comfortable and situated.

"Well," I said. "Where _can_ we start? You are obviously a Khajiit, but do you know Ta'agra?"

His eyes wandered around as he was thinking about something, "Partially."

My head tilted to the side, "Can you elaborate?"

"I know a few words. Why?"

I sighed. "If I'm going to be teaching you about the Khajiit pantheon, what good is it if I can't speak in Ta'agra, too?"

"Teach me a little of that then." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

"Okay... altogether, this leaves me little room to start with, but alright... let's start with Sheggorath. What do you know about him?"

His head slowly turned to the side, "Sheggorath? Do you mean Sheogorath?" The tip of his tail, which was strewn off to the side of his leg, was gently tapping on the bed.

"Aye." I nodded, "But in the Khajiit pantheon, his name is Sheggorath. What do you know about him?"

Omazirr shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest once more like he'd done before, "I only know that he's crazy and lives in the Shivering Isles. Something about a world split in half?"

I stared at Omazirr for a minute and found myself thinking, _"Jaji va thjis." _This one is foolish.


	7. Seven: Vaermina

"We'll do some more tomorrow, then?"

I froze as I opened the doors to Omazirr's room and I glanced back at him. He sat there on the edge of his bed with his feet planted firmly on the ground. His elbow was resting on his knee and his his chin was resting in his open palm. I wasn't expecting him to _ask_ me that. Maybe take more of a direct route - _"Same time tomorrow. And this time, don't fall asleep." _I found myself making a mental image of him, even as I looked away.

Hid dark gray fur stayed the same, but his image came as a bold, muscular warrior that was much taller than me - by a few feet. In order to get into the room, the mental image of him would have had to duck. His eyes were dark in my mind, but not in a mysterious or enchanting kind of way. I figured it was more as a dangerous vibe to him. In my mind, he was standing on a mountain with the sun setting behind him, the glow illuminating the surrounding area. His hands were rested tensely on his hips and his tail moved vigorously back and forth. There were dirt stains all over him -his armor and his fur, and blood looked caked into his fur as well. His posture was tense, as though he were waiting for something to strike him.

A first impression could leave quite a trail in somebody's mind, aye?

And I knew that because when I turned back to look at him, and the way he sat there, it wasn't the same thing I saw in my mind. The mental image screamed and uncivil man, but looking back at the real image of him -with my real eyes,- I saw a civilized kinsman who was curious to learn more. While his body language -and spoken language- spoke brute and criminal, but he was really just... I didn't know how to explain it, but he wasn't all big and bad. It was just a look to keep people off of his back. From what I saw about him, he wasn't all that bad when he was in a comfortable situation with people he was able to relax around. Since he'd just met me, it was good to know he felt like he could relax around me, but my mind told me it was only because I was a Khajiit like him and I was teaching him about our pantheon.

I looked into his eyes and nodded, "Aye." I whispered, "I'll be back tomorrow. Same time, if you're up."

A smile tweaked the corners of his lips up and he let his smile shine through, "Great. You should probably get some sleep then."

I felt a small rumble coming from my stomach and I nodded, "Aye, in a while. I need to eat first. Anyways... see 'ya in the morning."

"G'night." He was laying down as I pulled the door to his room shut behind me.

Gabriella was sitting at the long table snacking on some bread as I walked in the room. She said nothing to me but she did follow me around with her eyes. I looked around and saw an old-looking cabinet resting against the wall with some food items scattered across. There were fresh vegetables, bread that was most likely stale, and some fresh, raw meat. I picked up a few carrots and started to munch on them.

I was expecting the room to stay quiet, but the sound of small feet patted into the room and up to me.

"So, how did your first job go?"

I was startled a little, and looked down to find Babette looking up at me, expectantly. I knew the girl was just trying to make conversation. She probably didn't care; in fact, I was sure that she didn't.  
As I thought about it, it was weird, really. Babette was a old vampire who looked young. She had that thin, brown hair a child couldn't style, and she wore that little dress that enabled her to run freely. She looked like a child yet was older than me... anyways...

So what if I was new to the Brotherhood? I wasn't going to be treated like I was a lower being than the rest of them. I'm not saying I was better than them, I'm not full of myself like that, but I had enough respect for myself to keep from lashing out... and was everybody bipolar around the Brotherhood? I mean, usually I was the one who was switching back and forth between emotions, but with the way people were nice to me one second then shunning me the next... I was going to get whiplash.

_"Ajo." _I finished my carrot and threw away the green part at the top.

"Pardon?" Babette gave me a confused look.

I stared back at her and realized what she meant. I mumbled, "Sorry. I meant to say 'wonderful'."  
"What _did_ you say?" Her head tilted to the side and I felt a little awkward now. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other while I crossed my arms.

"I said 'wonderful' in Ta'agra. Has anybody ever heard of it?"

"Oh!" Babette nodded, "Yeah, I know Ta'agra. I mean, I don't actually _know_ it, know it but, I know it's the language of Khajiits."

"Hm..." Gabriella popped in to the conversation. "You could probably have a conversation with Omazirr, then."

Babette laughed. "That's funny, Gabriella! I don't think I've ever seen anybody except for Astrid have a conversation with Omazirr."

Gabriella joined in with her friend's laughter, "Even then, Astrid does most of the talking! If the damned cat would learn to open up more... no offense, Ajivha."

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room as they continued to talk and joke about Omazirr. I was a little offended, but I shook it off.

I walked into my room and plopped down on my bed, moving with it as it bounced up and down a few times. I reached up to fluff my pillow a little before laying down. The air in my room was chilling me but my fur kept me warm. I pulled the blanket up over me and pushed myself down further into the bed. It was only slightly warmer under the covers because I was just getting in to them, but soon enough I was under Lady Vaermina's spell.

_ The torches hung on the cavern walls were casting an eerie light all around me. I looked left and right, behind me and in front of me as a cool breeze swept through the hall. The bright lights wavered around me and I decided I should trek forwards. I found my mind wandering, 'Where am I?' although part of me didn't care. The stone walls and stone floors were covered with fungi here and there as water dripped from above in some parts. Torch after torch, as I walked, the hallway kept coming. It seemed to stretch on and on as I walked, more torches appearing in the distance the farther I trekked._

My mind was starting to question what was happening. Why was there no end to the hallway? When I turned around, I opened my mouth to let out a yell, but no sound came from me. The end of the hall was rushing toward me, the floor and walls disappearing to show nothing but a darkness. The torches blew out as the wind circled the flame.

I turned back to the front and started to run forward. I refused to fall off of the hallway! Wind pushed against me from behind, but instead of helping me run faster, it seemed to wrap around me and pull me backwards to my death.

"Ajivha..." I heard something whisper my name. Something, but what? Was I going crazy? "Ajivha..." The last syllable of my name was being stressed and shivers covered my body.

I shrieked as the wind became powerful around me, suddenly swiping up my body from the ground right before it disappeared from under me... and yet, I wasn't falling. I was levitating in the air, it seemed. But as my pulse raced, my eyes searched frantically around me for something to help me, I found nothing. I squirmed and struggled to move, but I was bound by the wind - the wind! How could such a force bind me? I was stronger than the wind, was I not? It shouldn't have been a problem, and yet as I rolled in the air, I found that I couldn't lift my arms away from my sides or spread my feet and legs as to walk!

"What sorcery is this?" Maybe I had no right to ask that, seeing as how I knew some magic myself, but what else could keep so tightly held in one place?

There was a muffled sound, coming from all around me. It was very quiet. It was so soft, but slowly it started to become louder. Louder, louder, louder! Louder, it was!

"Do-vah-kiin!_" The word was stretched throughout the air. Before it could finish being said the first time, the voice started to say it again, and then I realized it sounded femininely deep. It wasn't a man speaking; no! It was a woman.. but who? With every repetition of the word, a word I couldn't make out, the voice still grew louder until it was too loud! It started to sound like a bard was trying to do a high-note in my ear, only centimeters away._

I found myself struggling, struggling to get out of the wind's grip so I could run to find shelter from the voice. The darkness was so thick, the sound so loud that both of them seemed to be seeping into my skin.  
I found myself screech ,"**STOP! PLEASE STOP!**_" I'd never heard myself scream so loud, but all of a sudden my back collided with hard, stone floor and I sat up right away. My heart was pounding, my chest racing forward and back as I breathed heavily. My palms were sweaty, making it difficult for me to keep myself in a sitting position while my other hand rested on my chest to help me calm._

As I looked around the room now, I found myself look at a simple cavern. A waterfall ran through the middle of the cavern as I sat on a small cliff above it all. There were no openings, however, so how did I get here?

I turned to look behind me and shrieked once again. There was a woman standing there! And... and she was buff... big and buff and muscular.

"Why," she said. "Hello there, my daughter." She gave a laugh, and while it was sweetly sick, she smiled at me. She held a giant, gold battleaxe and was fully dressed in armor to match her build.

The gold battleaxe gave it away.

"Boethiah!" My mouth exclaimed the name so shockingly. I was surprised I still had my voice left after the shriek I'd given. "Boethiah? Daedric Prince, Boethiah? Is that really you?"

"Aye, my child." She smiled a grand smile although her eyes held thin seemingly random gleam. "I had to come to you tonight..." She started to laugh, "Did you enjoy my little game?"

Game?_ I felt sick to my stomach and shook my head, "Nay, I can't say I did."_

"Aye, I apologize." There was a thick brogue of sarcasm in that note, I ignored it.

"Am I under Vaermina's grasp?"

"Aye, you are."

"Why did you come to see me here? I-... I mean, I am honored by your presence, but why gift it to me?"

She smiled, "You, Dovahkiin_, have a great potential to come. Not only for me, but for many others, including the other Daedric Princes. If I let you slip up this Riften contract, you'd be a waste!"_

"Riften?" I hadn't fully comprehended what she'd meant, but then I remembered the Riften contract I knew nothing about yet. "You're going to help me?" At the time, my mind hadn't even realized what she'd called me. Had I, I'd have asked her about it then and there.

"Aye." She nodded and took a seat roughly in front of me. "We are going to talk strategy for your contract! And I will help you enter Riften, my daughter."

Of all people to come to me in my dreams, I never though Boethiah would be one. I also never expected her to help me with a contract, or call me _Dovahkiin_... whatever that was supposed to mean.


	8. Eight: Skyforge Steel

**Stay with me here during this chapter, okay? I was not exactly in my best state of mind while writing this. I had relationship drama going on.** **Okay? Thanks... I hope you guys understand if this chapter is bad... I guess you can consider this a filler chapter.**

"Ah!" I sat up in my bed quickly, shaking my head vigorously as I turned cold. I was only in my underthings (what we today would call a sports bra and night shorts) and as I looked down, my cot, my blanket, and when I turned back, I found my pillow was wet, too! I looked up to find an impatient Omazirr standing at the edge with a pail in his hands.

"About time." He grumbled something about having to walk outside to get water to wake me up and then he spoke up. "There's somebody here that the Sanctuary needs to welcome. Get up."

I groaned. "Back to the jerk, I see," I mumbled things to myself and slipped out of the cot, throwing on my Shrouded Robes. "That was really uncool, you know." I watched as he walked to leave my room, then stopped and turned back to give me this death-glare that made my blood go cold.

"Uncool? You want to know what's _uncool_? Having to go outside and get a bucket of freezing water to wake your lazy ass up!" His voice was taught with an angry toughness.

"I was up late!" I defended.

He scoffed, his tail moving quickly back and forth as his eyes narrowed on me, "Maybe if you hadn't fallen asleep so early you wouldn't have been up late!" He walked out of my room and slammed the door shut behind him before I could say anything else.

_"Well, isn't _somebody_ tense today!"_ I shook my head as I fixed up my robes, then realized what Omazirr said. _"Hm... I wonder who's so important that Omazirr has his tail in a knot..._" After last night, I was hoping he would have been a little nicer... Yeah, remember the remark I said before about getting whiplash from these people? Well, I could _definitely_ see it coming from Omazirr.

I pulled open my door and shook off the cold breeze that hit me. _Did underground always have to be so cold?_ Rhetorical question, of course. As I padded into the main room, I was... dumbfounded?

There stood, as plain as day, a man dressed in a black and red jester's outfit... he even had the hat. _The hat._ What. The. Hell?!

Everybody stood around him as though he were really putting on a show, but Astrid was talking to him and the rest were just... there. So Veezara saw me and slyly waved me to come over and join the crowd. I hated him for it.

When I stepped up to all of them, the jester stopped and glanced at me as I intruded into the crowd, "He he he he he he he! Who is this that I do see? Is she a sister now reborn? Or is she an intruder to be scorned? I am Cicero at your service! And this here is my Night Mother!" He turned to a big crate behind him and held his arms out as if showing off an extravagantly decorated box.

"Uh... Night Mother?"

His face turned solemn but he quickly replaced his frown with a creepy smile, "Yes, yes! My Night Mother! My Night Mother! Don't you touch her or I'll harm every little hair on your head!" He leaned forward and _plucked_ a strand of fur from my head. He plucked it right from a sensitive spot, too.

I found myself cringing in pain one second and the next I was releasing this feral hiss with my hand stretching back, claws protruding from my fingertips. His eyes widened as he realized the mistake he'd made.

"Feral! Feral!" He started jumped around the small circle of us, hiding behind Gabriella and Arnbjorn and Astrid. He continuously peeped over their shoulders, still muttering feral, "Feral kitty! De-claw her! De-claw her!" Meanwhile, the others had to stifle their laughs and giggles.

"Enough!" Astrid stepped away from Cicero and turned to face him.

"I agree." I told her. I shoved my hands into a pocket in my Shrouded Robes and felt my hand curl around the golden chain. "If it's fine with you, Astrid, I'd like to skip this little meeting and go over to Whiterun for a while."

She eyed me and glanced back at Cicero. "Very well."

"Cicero will go with you!" The jester popped out from behind Astrid. "I will make up for my rudeness!" He suddenly dipped himself forward in a bow and I shook my head.

"I don't think so. We have things to discuss still." Astrid crossed her arms angrily over her chest.

"Things? Like what?"

I shook my head and turned away. "I'm going." Before I left, I made sure to equip the Orcish dagger I'd found in the woman's home.

I was walking for an hour or so when something running through the trees and bushes behind me made me pull the dagger out of my pocket and slowly stop walking. I stepped behind a tree quickly and waited, waited to see who was following me as my heart started to race and I became nervous.  
When the footsteps got closer to the tree, to the point where they were on the side of it, I brought up my arm and raised my dagger with the other arm, letting out an "Ah!" as I threw my body against the person with my arm at their neck.

I was brought face to face with an appalled Cicero, who immediately started saying, "No danger! No danger! I am not a stranger! It's only me, Cicero! I assure you!"

I found a snarl covering my lips as I stepped away from him slowly and sheathed my dagger. "Why are you following me?" I yelled.

"I wanted to venture to Whiterun with you!" He clapped his hands and smiled, "I like Whiterun! Can I come? Can I come?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. If you couldn't tell, I already wasn't fond of him. "Fine," I told him. "But when we're at an inn, you're sleeping in another room."

"Oh, goody, goody! Where are we off to?"

"I have to visit my friend at the Skyforge." We fell into an easy, yet uncomfortable walking pattern side by side.

"Oh! Cicero wants Skyforge steel! Sharp, sharp for easy stabbing!"

"Stabbing?" I asked. Who said anything about stabbing? Wasn't he a jester - supposed to be about jokes and all?

"Yes! Stabbing! You know..." he pulled a knife out of his pocket and started to jab at the air in front of him. "Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab! Stab, stab, stab-stabbity stab!"

I found my eyes widened as I looked away from the jester and shook my head slowly. "_Don't_ do that when we're in Whiterun."

It took us a while and a stop at an inn along the way, but we got to Whiterun. I'll admit now that having a jester along was pretty amusing although deep inside I still held some hate towards the guy. He _plucked_ a strand of fur from my head! Not only did he invade my privacy; he touched my fur! He threatened me, too! As if his _Night Mother_ is so sweet, anyways! From what I've learned about his ramblings, he's obsessed with her. If that's the case, why did he come with me to Whiterun instead of anybody... else.

I stopped dead in my tracks, realizing that nobody said anything about sending anyone with me to protect me from the Delvin guy... I'd have to ask about that when I got back... maybe they figured they'd fill Cicero in on the situation and then let him come and accompany me? No... maybe?

I shook my head as we walked to the front gates and the guards there stopped us.

"What business do you have here, Khajiit?" At least he called me a Khajiit and not '_cat_'.

"I need to speak with the man running the Skyforge."

"Eorlund?"

I nodded as the two guards exchanged glances, and, unlike the guards at Riften, they let me in without a problem. However, they didn't fail to give Cicero a _glance_ as he passed them by.

As we entered Whiterun, there was a woman at a forge of her own, and she looked at us and said something about going to her for armor and weapons. Well, I wasn't looking for armor or weapons, so I ignored her and started up the stony path. We came to a circle with a set of steps along the left side of us, so we walked up them and crossed over a small bridge. People were all over the place, I noted, as I saw Jorrvaskr. I started up the steps that lead to the big building, home of the Companions, and made my way around it. I looked behind me to see that Cicero was still there, but when we came to the back, we were stopped by a woman wearing, disturbingly, next to nothing. She looked like a hunter, but she definitely wasn't wearing too-great armor.

"What are you doing?" she asked me directly. She had her arms crossed and a bow was at her back. We were about the same height, though I was a little shorter. She had this brownish hair that went to, about her shoulders, I'd say.

I raised my head and replied, "I need to see Eorlund."

She looked over my armor, "You dress like an assassin."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Calm yourself, please. I'm not here to _var dar_ him."

Her brows raised a little, giving me this questioning glance. "_Var dar_?"

I cursed under my breath, "I apologize. I have a habit of letting my Ta'agra slip through into my sentences no matter what language I'm speaking. What I mean to say is that I'm not here to kill Eorlund. If you don't believe me, you can accompany me up to him."

"That won't be necessary!" I heard a familiar voice behind me and turned to see Eorlund himself. "Ajivha!" He held his arms out and I turned to hug him.

"Eorlund! It's been so long! How do you still remember me?"

He chuckled, but didn't let go of me. "It's hard to forget the most adorable Jha'khajiit I ever saw in Tamriel on my trip there. You still have the same eyes and ears!"

When he finally let go of me, I glanced back at the girl and she looked shocked.

"You know her?"

"Of course I do! But that's a story I'll tell you another time!" He turned to me. "Come on up and I'll show you my Skyforge. Bring your... fellow, too." He glanced at Cicero, who was actually just standing there for once.

I smiled and the three of us made out way to the top of the Skyforge.

"So, why did that girl look so shocked when you hugged me?"

Eorlund chuckled, "I guess it's because I don't usually hug people. Or maybe it's because you're a Khajiit and she just wasn't expecting me to know you. Anyways, I see you took me up on your offer of coming here. You didn't come all this way just to see the Skyforge, did you?"

I smiled as we took a seat on some rocks. Cicero was looking around at everything, but he was careful not to touch things.

"No. Things have changed since you left, Eorlund. You've stayed the same, though, I see."

"I try not to change." He smiled. "So, what did you need then, friend?"

"Well, while I was wishing to check up on you after coming to Skyrim, I thought of my parents and I remembered you said you had the Skyforge up here." I pulled a locket out of my pocket and handed it to him. "Do you think you could get my parents' names on that?"

"Do'Marash and Abarina?" He took the chain from my hand and looked over the locket. "Aye! Should be easy enough. I could have it done within the next few days. I'd have it done sooner but I have important weapons to craft first."

I smiled. "Thank you, Eorlund. I appreciate it. Besides, the longer it's off my hands, the better."  
He nodded, although I saw his brow raise a little. "So, what happened, if you don't mind my asking?"  
"To my parents or about the locket?"

He shrugged his shoulders, still looking over the gold, "Well, I was asking about your parents but you can explain both if you like."

"My parents were killed by wolves two years after your visit. I was ten at the time."

"Would have been about ten years ago, aye?"

"Aye," I nodded. "I'd like to have something to remember them by and nothing could be better than a locket dedicated to them at this moment."

"I see where you're coming from. And the reason it's better off of your hands?"

"It may take a while to explain, my friend."

He chuckled, "I've got the time."


End file.
